Spoilers: Jedi Apprentice #1 - #13 for now.
Disclaimer: This story is not intended to infringe upon the copyrights of George Lucas, LucasFilms, Scholastic Books, Jude Watson, or any other party affiliated with the Star Wars universe. This story is written for entertainment purposes only and not intended for profit. I don't own them, I'm just playing with them for a while...
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Touched by Darkness
by danakate (danakate@danakate.com)
Chapter 2
Qui-Gon Jinn was a formidable man, tall and noble. The grey creeping into his long hair marked his years but made him seem wise, not old. But for all his knowledge and strength he could not hide his irritation as he accompanied his unconscious apprentice to the Healers' Wing. A Healer had performed a cursory scan of Obi-Wan in the Council Chambers, declaring there was physically nothing wrong with the boy.
Mentally, Obi-Wan was somehow maintaining tight shields. But there was a gap. Fear was seeping from him almost constantly. A dark presence had touched Obi-Wan's mind in the Chambers, of that Qui-Gon was sure. But Qui-Gon's mind was on other matters at that moment.
In a matter of a few hours, two Jedi had been incapacitated, one nearly fatally so. The Temple was on high security alert: Padawans now had a curfew, Knights and Masters patrolled the halls at all times, arrivals and departures were restricted and tightly controlled. It was unlikely the offender was still in the Temple, but if someone could infiltrate the Temple once, they could do it again.
Qui-Gon returned his attention to his fallen Padawan. A crease appeared on his brow as he contemplated the mystery surrounding the boy. He had felt…something…just before Obi-Wan's mental anguish assaulted his senses. A sense of foreboding hung over Qui-Gon and he wondered what it was that caused his apprentice so much pain, keeping him from the conscious world.
*
He was running in the darkness, but he was not being pursued. Kenobi was the pursuer, though he knew not whom he was chasing. He only knew he had to catch the person before it was too late. Too late for what? He did not know. There were too many unknowns but there was one certainty: kill or be killed.
Using the Force, he urged his body to run faster. Within seconds, he could hear the slap of his prey's footfalls. He was getting closer. Suddenly, his target stumbled, grunting as he -- Kenobi knew it was a 'he' now -- hit the ground and slid across the floor. Now was his chance. He leapt, covering the last of the distance between his victim and himself, and blocked the man's intended route of escape.
The man paused; a flicker of fear crossed his features before being replaced by defiance.
"I won't be taken alive," he snarled, brandishing a blaster in his right hand.
Before the man could think of firing Kenobi surged forward, igniting his lightsaber at the moment just before impact, the red beam moving in a strong, upward motion. A strangled cry abruptly cut short with the sudden loss of vocal cords. Kenobi deactivated his lightsaber, re-clipping it to his belt and turned away.
"I never intended to," he murmured as he heard the two halves of the man's body fall to the floor. Surveying the area, he concluded that all threats were neutralized. As he walked away, the scene dissolved in front of his eyes and he was thrown into nothingness.
*
Qui-Gon stood, arms crossed and unmoving, beside the hover bed in the Healers' Wing where his apprentice lay. It had been two days since Obi-Wan's collapse and still the boy showed no signs of waking. Physically, he was fine, although the Healers had noticed symptoms of fatigue and exhaustion in Obi-Wan's body. His mind, however, displayed an increase in activity. Technically, Obi-Wan was in a coma, but his brain wave patterns were of those similarly seen in someone who was in dream-sleep.
Absently, the tall Jedi sank into a chair beside the hover bed, one he had frequented many times in the past two days. Bracing his elbows on the arms of the chair, he steepled his fingers and peered across the top, as if he would miraculously find answers there. Closing his eyes, he focused on the boy lying in front of him. As he had done several times before, he reached out to the Force and attempted to find Obi-Wan's presence. Previous attempts yielded no results and he expected none now, yet he could not give up.
One by one, the thoughts and images in his mind cleared until only the Force remained to guide him. He followed its gentle tendrils and its light to its center. For a moment, he let himself be awed by the power and beauty he sensed. The Force, an intangible essence that directed his life's mission, seemed at that moment so full of being he could almost feel it like waves washing over his soul.
It was there that he felt it, a slight ripple of something that should not have been there. When Qui-Gon allowed his mind to find the disturbance, he was not at all surprised to discover its source: Obi-Wan. But when he reached for the boy, to offer his support and comfort, he was thrown back with so much force he broke out of his meditation and found himself lying on the cold, hard infirmary floor.
*
He was running in the darkness, chased by some unknown foe. Kenobi called on the Force to aid in his escape, ignoring the exhaustion his body was starting to feel. Behind him, he could hear the slap of the footfalls of his pursuer. And they were getting closer.
Kenobi burst into an open area, no less dim than the tunnel he had exited. Turning, he focused his mind and readied for battle. The footfalls stopped just at the mouth of the tunnel and Kenobi could sense the other person probing the area for other beings. Carefully, the other Force-sensitive approached him.
"I will not be taken alive," Kenobi spoke, his voice soft but strong, his words emphasized with the snap-hiss of his lightsaber. He held his weapon in front of him, its red blade casting a menacing shadow in the dark chamber.
"You must," his attacker replied. And suddenly the room glowed with another lightsaber, this one an emerald green.
Kenobi charged and as their blades clashed, filling the room with the smell of lightning, his vision blurred and he was cast once more into nothingness.
*
Obi-Wan burst out of unconsciousness with a strangled cry. His heart was pounding in his chest, begging to be released from its confined space. A hand appeared on the rail of the bed beside his head and he saw his Master rise from the floor.
"Master," he breathed, grasping the hand like a lifeline.
"I am here, Obi-Wan," he soothed.
Obi-Wan took a shuddering breath, laying his forehead against Qui-Gon's fingers. Qui-Gon placed his other hand on Obi-Wan's head, stroking the short hairs in silent comfort and waited out the moment as Obi-Wan wept.
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To be continued.
**
Author's notes: Another revision of this part.
Created:
Unknown
Revision History:
Unknown
2002-04-23
©2002 Jennifer Kahng